Microsoft promised that awesome games will run on Windows Phone 8 smartphones, and it will be interesting to see more and more titles with eye-popping 3D graphics that you normally see only on PCs or tablets. But while the software giant?s approach of getting the same touchscreen-based releases on smartphones, tablets, and PCs is an attractive idea, game developers are wary.
Developers are embracing Windows 8 as an operating system for the PC. But they are not as excited about Microsoft?s new Windows Phone 8 software because they have already made huge investments in mobile ecosystems that reach hundreds of millions of individuals. They are particularly wary about spreading themselves thin by supporting Microsoft?s new software in addition to Google?s Android and Apple?s iOS. We caught a sampling of reactions to Windows Phone 8, which will be formally unveiled on Monday, from various game-industry executives.
?Microsoft claims it will be easy to port PC games to the Windows 8 mobile platform, but my thought is that PC gaming is an ardent but dwindling culture, so this is not a major incentive to develop for or purchase one of these phones,? said Jeff Gomez, chief executive of Starlight Runner Entertainment. ?Far more interesting to me will be whether Microsoft will make an effort to extend the Xbox Live and Xbox gaming experience to Windows 8 mobile in any kind of powerful way. Phones are about connectivity and intimacy, so I think it would be smart for Microsoft to make it super easy to participate in the Xbox community no matter where you are.?
Nokia, Huawei, Samsung, and HTC are all making Windows Phone 8 devices. One drawback is that consumers who bought Windows Phone 7 devices in the past year will not be able to update their devices to Windows Phone 8. Windows Phone 8 will allow for devices with larger screens and multicore processors. The phones will work with near field communications or a close-range wireless technology.
Marco DeMiroz, chief executive of PlayFirst, said that his mobile focus will still center on iOS and Android.
?To be candid, Windows Phone 8 is not in our near-term plans. For us, the extent of the installed base is key, and we are not certain about its adoption curve. In addition, compared to the phenomenal growth on both iOS and Android, WP8 is a much lower priority. Nevertheless, we?ll continue to monitor its growth and adoption dynamics.?
Jude Gomila, co-founder of Heyzap, said a massive opportunity doesn?t exist on Windows Phone 8 yet. Mobilityware?s John Libby said the same thing. Libby stated, ?For us, it?s pretty simple. As a small iOS and Android mobile developer ? we don?t anticipate going after Windows 8. As far as Windows Phone 8, we don?t have the resources (developers, etc) to open up a third front to attack until it gets more traction. We are watching it, and we wish Microsoft well.?
Chris Taylor, a veteran developer at Gas Powered Games, said the new Windows Store for apps could be a game changer if it results in affecting how we purchase apps.
On the other hand, Microsoft might do well to continue to push into smartphones and tablets, where it can be viewed as an underdog and a savior. Eric Goldberg, the head of Crossover Technologies and a seasoned game consultant, said, ?Windows Phone 8 may be the last best hope to break the platform duopoly for mobile games. For game developers and publishers who bitch about the prospect of being strangled by Apple?s tight control of its ecosystem or the economically challenging lower revenue per capita of the Android ecosystem (or both!), games for the mobile instantiations of Windows 8 are indeed a priority. Microsoft has a demonstrated competence in delivering software for which customers pay, and historically is developer friendly when it?s in a trailing market position.?
Randy Pitchford, head of Gearbox Software, said, ?Windows Phone 8 is going to be my first Windows phone. I?ve been attracted to the platform for some time because I feel some addition towards increasing my Xbox Live Gamerscore, but Windows Phone 8 pushes me over the edge with the specifications and design of the platform. I hope it makes sense for us to do a game for it as we watch the installed base grow from launch.?
Ken Chiu, senior vice president of the game studio at Gree, said, ?We are always open to learning about and working with new hardware and technologies. We certainly see potential with the Windows Phone ? especially if it brings unique technologies that could change the way our market plays games.?
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What's been described as a "rogue" geoengineering experiment is really an effort, however flawed, to restore salmon abundance
By David Biello
ADDING IRON: By adding iron to the Pacific Ocean, as pictured here, the Haida Salmon Restoration Corp. hoped to restore lost salmon abundance--and generate carbon credits too.Image: Courtesy of HSRC
In a bid to restore lost fish abundance, the Haida Salmon Restoration Corp. (HSRC) undertook to mimic the effects of a volcanic eruption by fertilizing the ocean with iron. The idea was to provide the missing nutrient for a plankton bloom that would then trickle up the food web and restore salmon?with the ancillary effects of gathering data on the ocean food web and, potentially, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
"What if this is a means by which ocean pastures can be stewarded and brought back to health?" asks Russ George, chief scientist of the expedition as well as a controversial businessman with a history of attempting to start CO2-removal schemes ranging from reforestation to ocean fertilization. "This is a tiny village of people trying to take care of their backyard."
Old Masset village on the Haida Gwaii Islands off the British Columbia coast did this by contracting George and others to initiate the largest such intentional ocean fertilization effort to date. It authorized the release of roughly 110 metric tons of iron dust, 91 metric tons of the iron sulfate fertilizer commonly used as a lawn treatment and employed in other scientific experiments, and nearly 20 metric tons of the iron oxide found in soils around the world. "It's micronutrient enrichment," Jason McNamee, operations officer and corporate director for the HSRC, told a press conference on October 19. "We took a bag of iron, and we slapped it over one square kilometer [of ocean]."
To do that, this past July the HSRC team motored more than 300 kilometers west from the Haida Gwaii Islands to an ocean eddy in the fishing vessel Ocean Pearl. The area had previously been scouted by collecting water samples since January and lies outside Canadian territorial waters. The team also used more than 20 autonomous oceangoing robots, including two bright yellow gliders and 20 Argo drifter robots on loan from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to survey the scene?work that is ongoing. Over the course of several days the researchers then released the 110 metric tons into the fishing boat's wake in an attempt to raise the levels of iron in the water from one or two parts per trillion up to five to 10, although both concentrations are estimates.
Satellite images as well as maps of chlorophyll abundance appear to show that the iron did indeed fuel a plankton bloom in August. But questions remain: Was it the right kind of bloom to bury carbon? Will it have any effect on the salmon?
Ocean restoration The HSRC's basic idea is born out of marine biology as well as observations of the aftermath of volcanic eruptions in the region. For example, a lack of iron limits the growth of microscopic plants in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and elsewhere, a fact that prompted marine biologist John Martin to famously muse: "Give me half a tanker of iron, and I'll give you the next ice age."
In the summer of 2008 Mount Kasatoshi in Alaska's Aleutian Islands blew, sending volcanic minerals, including iron dust, far to sea and prompting plankton blooms across the Gulf of Alaska. At the same time, years and years of decline in returning salmon populations led researchers to expect few of the fry from 2008 to return in later years, only to find a record salmon run in Canada's Fraser River in 2010.
Contact: Aileen Sheehy press.office@sanger.ac.uk 0044-012-234-96928 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Researchers develop cocktail of bacteria that eradicates Clostridium difficile infection
In a new study out today, researchers used mice to identify a combination six naturally occurring bacteria that eradicate a highly contagious form of Clostridium difficile, an infectious bacterium associated with many hospital deaths. Three of the six bacteria have not been described before. This work may have significant implications for future control and treatment approaches.
The researchers found that this strain of C. difficile, known as O27, establishes a persistent, prolonged contagious period, known as supershedding that is very difficult to treat with antibiotics. These contagious 'supershedders' release highly resistant spores for a prolonged period that are very difficult to eradicate from the environment. Similar scenarios are likely in hospitals.
C. difficile can cause bloating, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and is a contributing factor to over 2,000 deaths in the UK in 2011. It lives naturally in the body of some people where other bacteria in the gut suppress its numbers and prevent it from spreading. If a person has been treated with a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as clindamycin, our bodies' natural bacteria can be destroyed and the gut can become overrun by C. difficile. The aggressive strain of C. diff analysed in this study has been responsible for epidemics in Europe, North America and Australia.
"We treated mice infected with this persistent form of C. diff with a range of antibiotics but they consistently relapsed to a high level of shedding or contagiousness," says Dr Trevor Lawley, first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "We then attempted treating the mice using faecal transplantation, homogenized faeces from a healthy mouse. This quickly and effectively supressed the disease and supershedding state with no reoccurrence in the vast majority of cases."
"This epidemic caused by C. diff is refractory to antibiotic treatment but can be supressed by faecal transplantation, resolving symptoms of disease and contagiousness."
The team wanted to take this research one step further and isolate the precise bacteria that supressed C. diff. and restored microbial balance of the gut. They cultured a large number of bacteria naturally found in the gut of mice, all from one of four main groups of bacteria found in mammals. They tested many combinations of these bacteria, until they isolated a cocktail of six that worked best to suppress the infection.
"The mixture of six bacterial species effectively and reproducibly suppressed the C. difficile supershedder state in mice, restoring the healthy bacterial diversity of the gut," says Professor Harry Flint, senior author from the University of Aberdeen.
The team then sequenced the genomes of the six bacteria and compared their genetic family tree to more precisely define them. Based on this analysis, the team found that the mixture of six bacteria contained three that have been previously described and three novel species. This mix is genetically diverse and comes from all four main groups of bacteria found in mammals.
These results illustrate the effectiveness of displacing C. diff and the supershedder microbiota with a defined mix of bacteria, naturally found in the gut.
"Our results open the way to reduce the over-use of antibiotic treatment and harness the potential of naturally occurring microbial communities to treat C. difficile infection and transmission, and potentially other diseases associated with microbial imbalances," explains Professor Gordon Dougan, senior author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Faecal transplantation is viewed as an alternative treatment but it is not widely used because of the risk of introducing harmful pathogens as well as general patient aversion. This model encapsulates some of the features of faecal therapy and acts as a basis to develop standardized treatment mixture."
###
Notes to Editors
Publication Details
Trevor D. Lawley, Simon Clare, Alan W. Walker, Mark D. Stares, Thomas R. Connor, Claire Raisen, David Goulding, Roland Rad, Fernanda Schreiber, Cordelia Brandt, Laura J. Deakin, Derek J. Pickard, Sylvia H. Duncan, Harry J. Flint, Taane G. Clark, Julian Parkhill, Gordon Dougan (2012). 'Targeted restoration of the intestinal microbiota with a simple, defined bacteriotherapy resolves relapsing Clostridium difficile disease in mice'
Published in PLOS Pathogens on 25 October DOI: ppat.1002995
Funding
This project was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council.
Participating Centres
Bacterial Pathogenesis Laboratory, Microbial Pathogenesis Laboratory, Pathogen Genomics and Mouse Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK,
Microbial Ecology Group, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB21 9SB, UK,
Departments of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
Selected Websites
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century.
www.mrc.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.
http://www.sanger.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
Contact details
Don Powell Media Manager
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
Tel +44 (0)1223 496 928
Mobile +44 (0)7753 7753 97
Email press.office@sanger.ac.uk
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Aileen Sheehy press.office@sanger.ac.uk 0044-012-234-96928 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Researchers develop cocktail of bacteria that eradicates Clostridium difficile infection
In a new study out today, researchers used mice to identify a combination six naturally occurring bacteria that eradicate a highly contagious form of Clostridium difficile, an infectious bacterium associated with many hospital deaths. Three of the six bacteria have not been described before. This work may have significant implications for future control and treatment approaches.
The researchers found that this strain of C. difficile, known as O27, establishes a persistent, prolonged contagious period, known as supershedding that is very difficult to treat with antibiotics. These contagious 'supershedders' release highly resistant spores for a prolonged period that are very difficult to eradicate from the environment. Similar scenarios are likely in hospitals.
C. difficile can cause bloating, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and is a contributing factor to over 2,000 deaths in the UK in 2011. It lives naturally in the body of some people where other bacteria in the gut suppress its numbers and prevent it from spreading. If a person has been treated with a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as clindamycin, our bodies' natural bacteria can be destroyed and the gut can become overrun by C. difficile. The aggressive strain of C. diff analysed in this study has been responsible for epidemics in Europe, North America and Australia.
"We treated mice infected with this persistent form of C. diff with a range of antibiotics but they consistently relapsed to a high level of shedding or contagiousness," says Dr Trevor Lawley, first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "We then attempted treating the mice using faecal transplantation, homogenized faeces from a healthy mouse. This quickly and effectively supressed the disease and supershedding state with no reoccurrence in the vast majority of cases."
"This epidemic caused by C. diff is refractory to antibiotic treatment but can be supressed by faecal transplantation, resolving symptoms of disease and contagiousness."
The team wanted to take this research one step further and isolate the precise bacteria that supressed C. diff. and restored microbial balance of the gut. They cultured a large number of bacteria naturally found in the gut of mice, all from one of four main groups of bacteria found in mammals. They tested many combinations of these bacteria, until they isolated a cocktail of six that worked best to suppress the infection.
"The mixture of six bacterial species effectively and reproducibly suppressed the C. difficile supershedder state in mice, restoring the healthy bacterial diversity of the gut," says Professor Harry Flint, senior author from the University of Aberdeen.
The team then sequenced the genomes of the six bacteria and compared their genetic family tree to more precisely define them. Based on this analysis, the team found that the mixture of six bacteria contained three that have been previously described and three novel species. This mix is genetically diverse and comes from all four main groups of bacteria found in mammals.
These results illustrate the effectiveness of displacing C. diff and the supershedder microbiota with a defined mix of bacteria, naturally found in the gut.
"Our results open the way to reduce the over-use of antibiotic treatment and harness the potential of naturally occurring microbial communities to treat C. difficile infection and transmission, and potentially other diseases associated with microbial imbalances," explains Professor Gordon Dougan, senior author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Faecal transplantation is viewed as an alternative treatment but it is not widely used because of the risk of introducing harmful pathogens as well as general patient aversion. This model encapsulates some of the features of faecal therapy and acts as a basis to develop standardized treatment mixture."
###
Notes to Editors
Publication Details
Trevor D. Lawley, Simon Clare, Alan W. Walker, Mark D. Stares, Thomas R. Connor, Claire Raisen, David Goulding, Roland Rad, Fernanda Schreiber, Cordelia Brandt, Laura J. Deakin, Derek J. Pickard, Sylvia H. Duncan, Harry J. Flint, Taane G. Clark, Julian Parkhill, Gordon Dougan (2012). 'Targeted restoration of the intestinal microbiota with a simple, defined bacteriotherapy resolves relapsing Clostridium difficile disease in mice'
Published in PLOS Pathogens on 25 October DOI: ppat.1002995
Funding
This project was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council.
Participating Centres
Bacterial Pathogenesis Laboratory, Microbial Pathogenesis Laboratory, Pathogen Genomics and Mouse Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK,
Microbial Ecology Group, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB21 9SB, UK,
Departments of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
Selected Websites
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century.
www.mrc.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.
http://www.sanger.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
Contact details
Don Powell Media Manager
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
Tel +44 (0)1223 496 928
Mobile +44 (0)7753 7753 97
Email press.office@sanger.ac.uk
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The suit said the plaintiff, Secaucus, New Jersey-based Brynn Cohn, and two others in the print group were forced to resign because of the additional child care expenses the schedule would have required.
A gender discrimination lawsuit filed against the National Basketball Association Inc. and two of its subsidiaries Oct. 23 charges that it deliberately changed the work schedule of one of its units in order to drive out mothers with young children.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal district court in New York in Brynn Cohn v. National Basketball Association Inc., NBA Entertainment Inc., and NBA Properties Inc., in September 2010, the schedule of the New York-based NBA's Department of Creative Services' print group schedule was changed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to noon to 8 p.m. two days a week "in order to purge the department of women with young children."
The suit said the plaintiff, Secaucus, New Jersey-based Cohn, and two others in the print group were forced to resign because of the additional child care expenses the schedule would have required. "There was no business justification for the extended hours," for the group, whose previous work schedule was reinstated after the three women resigned, according to the suit.
According to the complaint, "The NBA pays lip service to gender equality, claiming that 'equal employment opportunity is a fundamental principle at the NBA.' In reality, however, the NBA is openly hostile to working mothers like Ms. Cohn. In the department where Ms. Cohn worked, women with young children were routinely met with eye-rolling and snide comments, and denied the same pay and promotion opportunities as other employees."
The suit charges the NBA and its subsidiaries with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and New Jersey state statutes. The suit seeks front and back pay, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney's fees, cost and expenses.
An NBA spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
The suit was filed on Cohn's behalf by New York-based law firm Sanford Heisler L.L.P. A gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the firm on behalf of current and former female public relations professionals of a major French advertising company and one of its units was granted conditional class action certification in June.
Judy Greenwald writes for Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com.
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New Delhi: St. George?s School Principal Dr. Sara George Muthoot has been honoured with the Gem of India Gold Medal at the recently held Global Achievers Conclave at House of Lords, UK.
(L-R) - Mr. Alexander George Muthoot, Dr. Sara George Muthoot, Baroness Sandeep Verma & Mr. M.G George Muthoot at the Global Achievers Conclave
The award has been conferred by NRI Welfare Society of India International Friendship Society (IIFS) to those Indians who have made considerable contribution, dominating all over the world in their field of profession and are creating wonders with their Midas touch. The award was presented by Rt. Hon?ble Baroness Sandeep Verma, Hon?ble Minister of Equalities, Women and Business Innovation & Skills and Govt. whip for the cabinet office, UK at a glittering function in the presence of many dignitaries.
Speaking on this occasion Dr. Sara George Muthoot, Principal, St. George?s School said: ?Our motto ?Spread the Light? is at the heart of everything we do at the school. Discipline, values, integrity, tolerance and respecting each other?s culture are the very foundation of our school. I express my sincere gratitude to IIFS for recognizing my contributions in the field of education and honouring me with the prestigious award.?
A doctorate in Philosophy, Dr. Sara?s commitment in the field of education and social welfare for the last three decades has given a substantial shape to the nation?s education policies. Her mission to educate and empower each child as her own is timeless. Under her able guidance, St. George?s School follows the student-centered CCE system set by the CBSE that encourages individual-based learning with the help of modern teaching aids and methodologies, thus, making education a one-to-one dialogue with the student, as the core of the teaching-learning process. The varied co-curricular activities including inter-house and inter-school competitions are held to help students imbibe a sense of team spirit, positive attitude and groom themselves to be good planners, inspiring, innovative and creative. Great emphasis is laid on saving the environment for generations to come by maintaining eco-friendly compost pits, rainwater harvesting, planting more trees, teaching and using of recycled paper among others.
Dr. Sara George Muthoot has also been a recipient of Delhi State Teacher?s Award-2012 for her exemplary contribution in the field of education; Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award for Services, Personal Achievements and
(L-R) - Baroness Sandeep Verma, Nawab Gaur (President, NRI Welfare Society, UK) & Dr. Sara George Muthoot (Principal, St. George's School)
Outstanding Contribution to the society; Shiksha Rattan Puraskar for Meritorious Services, Outstanding Performance and Remarkable Role in the field of education; Educational Excellence Award by the Knowledge Resource Development and Welfare Group for providing Inclusive and Holistic Education and The Golden Peacock Training Award for impeccably portraying leadership qualities that demands commitment and inherent cognitive efficiency to reach the pinnacle and hold fort.
MADRID (AP) ? Spain's economy continued to shrink in the third quarter, contracting by 0.4 percent compared with the previous three months, according to central bank estimates Tuesday that will increase pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to seek financial help from Europe.
This is the fifth quarter in a row that Spain's economic output has contracted. The economy also shrank by 0.4 percent in the second quarter and 0.3 percent in the first quarter and is forecast to show a 1.5 percent fall this year and 0.5 percent in 2013.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund forecast that Spain's economy would contract 1.3 percent next year, more than double the government's prediction.
The central bank's figure is an estimate. Official figures are due to be released by the National Statistics Institute on Oct. 30.
The bank said consumer demand fell by 1. 2 percent ? although the decline eased a little in the third quarter due to increased spending ahead of a sales tax increase on Sept. 1.
Spain is in its second recession in three years with near 25 percent unemployment. The country is one of the focal points in Europe's financial crisis: if Spain defaults on its debts or needs a full-blown bailout, the finances ? and credibility? of the 17-country group that uses the euro could be stretched to breaking point.
In September the European Central Bank said it was prepared to buy unlimited amounts of bonds in countries struggling with their debts. This has helped the country by pushing its borrowing costs lower. But Rajoy has held off triggering the actual purchases.
The government has introduced austerity measures and financial and labor reforms to convince investors it is getting a grip on its accounts. The measures have led to many strikes and protests and the country faces its second general strike in a year Nov. 14.
Several thousand people are expected to take part in a demonstration later Tuesday outside Parliament as lawmakers debate budget spending cuts for 2013. Two similar protests are planned for Thursday and Saturday.
Speaking at the start of the debate, Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro said the draft budget "aimed to combat the crisis," adding that it was a budget that would make "2013 the last year of recession for Spain."
The government is battling to reduce its bloated deficit to from 8.9 percent of GDP last year to 6.3 percent in 2012 and 4.5 percent next year.
Montoro said that under the 2012 budget, the central government's deficit through September was 3.9 percent of GDP, very close to the targeted 4.5 percent demanded by the European Union for the year.
When counting the heavy debts of the regional governments, Spain's overall target is for a deficit of 6.3 percent of GDP. To achieve that, the regions must aim for a deficit of 1.5 percent of their economic output this year.
However, the Bank of Spain warned Tuesday that although many of the government's measures have yet to have an effect on the deficit, more austerity may be needed to reach the year-end target.
Earlier in the day, the Treasury sold ?3.53 billion ($4.61 billion) in three- and six-month bills as investors continued to express their concern over Spain's ability to manage its finances.
The Treasury sold ?967 million in three-month bills with the average interest rate at 1.42 percent, up from 1.20 percent in the last such auction Sept. 25.
It sold ?2.56 billion in six-month bills on a yield of 2.02 percent, down from 2.21 percent Sept. 25.
Demand was more than four times the amount offered in the three-month category and almost double in the longer-term bills.
RBC TO ACQUIRE ALLY'S CANADIAN AUTO FINANCE BUSINESS
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Acquisition positions RBC as a leader in auto financing in Canada
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TORONTO, October 23, 2012 - Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire the Canadian auto finance and deposit business of Ally Financial Inc. ("Ally Canada") for a $1.4 billion investment net of excess capital. Subject to certain closing adjustments and including the excess capital, this results in total consideration of $3.1 to $3.8 billion, depending on the size of the dividend taken out by the seller prior to closing. The acquisition aligns with RBC's key strategic priority to be the leading provider of financial services in Canada.
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"Ally Canada will add significant scale to our existing consumer and commercial auto financing business and will strengthen RBC's position as a leader in the Canadian auto finance industry," said Dave McKay, group head, Personal & Commercial Banking, RBC. "This is a strong business with favourable industry dynamics and the combination with RBC provides opportunities to leverage our existing strengths and cross-sell capabilities."
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RBC is acquiring a leading Canadian auto finance business that offers inventory (or "floor plan") financing to more than 580 auto dealerships across the country. Its consumer business offers retail financing to Canadian consumers through approximately 1,600 dealerships and has approximately 450,000 consumer loans. The legal entities being acquired include Ally Credit Canada Ltd. and ResMor Trust Company. The book value of the acquired business as of September 30, 2012 was?$3.4 billion, unadjusted for the pre-closing dividend. The net investment of $1.4 billion includes a premium to book value of $0.6 billion.
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The combination of Ally Canada with RBC's existing business will create a leading player in Canadian auto financing with approximately $24 billion in receivables, offering floor plan financing to more than 890 dealerships. RBC's consumer business will offer consumers financing through approximately 4,000 dealerships. The combined portfolio will have more than one million consumer loans.
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RBC expects the Ally Canada business to generate approximately $120 million in net income on a standalone basis in the first 12 months after closing (before integration costs, amortization of intangibles and transaction costs), based on estimated average receivables of approximately $9 billion.
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Today RBC also announced it has entered into an agreement with General Motors of Canada to become a provider for its subvented business?upon close of the transaction. Subvented loans are low rate consumer auto loans subsidized by the manufacturer.
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The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to earnings per share in the first year after closing. At closing it is expected to reduce RBC's July 31, 2012 Tier 1 capital ratio of 13.0 per cent on a pro forma basis by approximately 60 bps. On an estimated Basel III basis, we expect our Common Equity Tier 1 ratio to remain above eight per cent following the close, given our strong capital position and internal capital generation.
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The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and other approvals, and is expected to close in the first quarter of calendar 2013.
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RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisor to Royal Bank of Canada in this transaction.
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Conference Call
A conference call is scheduled to take place on October 23, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (ET) and will feature speeches by RBC senior executives followed by a brief question and answer period with analysts.
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Interested parties can access this call live on a listen-only basis via telephone using the following access numbers:
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Local calls: 416-340-2217
North American toll-free: 866-696-5910
International toll-free: 800-8989-6336
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The passcode for access on all numbers is 4139509#. Please call between
8:20 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. (ET).
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??????????? The presentation material referenced during the call will be available on the website at rbc.com/investorrelations.
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A recording of the conference call will be available after 9:30 a.m. (ET) on October 23, 2012 until January 22, 2013 via telephone at: 905-694-9451 (locally) or 800-408-3053 (North American toll-free), passcode 7862644#.
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About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and are among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking and investor services on a global basis. We employ approximately 80,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 51 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
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CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
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Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under certain securities laws, including the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the expected effects of the acquisition of Ally Financial Inc.'s Canadian auto finance operations, the expected timing and scope of the acquisition and other statements other than in relation to historical facts. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "foresee", "forecast", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "goal", "plan" and "project" and similar expressions of future or conditional verbs such as "will", "may", "should", "could", or "would".
By their very nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that our predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations or conclusions and other forward-looking information, including statements about the acquisition of Ally Financial Inc.'s Canadian auto finance operations by Royal Bank of Canada will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to the possibility that the proposed transaction does not close when expected or at all because required regulatory or other approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all, that Royal Bank of Canada and Ally Financial Inc. may be required to modify the terms and conditions of the proposed transaction to achieve regulatory approval, or that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized as a result of such things as the strength of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where Royal Bank of Canada and Ally Financial Inc. do business; the impact of changes in the laws and regulations regulating financial services and enforcement thereof; the effects of competition in the markets in which Royal Bank of Canada and Ally Financial Inc. operate; judicial or regulatory judgments and legal proceedings; Royal Bank of Canada's ability to complete the acquisition and integration of Ally Financial Inc.'s Canadian auto finance operations successfully; and other factors that may affect future results of Royal Bank of Canada and Ally Financial Inc.'s Canadian auto finance operations including timely development and introduction of new products and services, Royal Bank of Canada's ability to cross-sell more products to customers and technological changes.
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We caution that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Additional information about these and other factors can be found in our Q3 2012 Report to Shareholders and 2011 Annual Report to Shareholders. Our material general economic assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this press release are set out in our 2011 Annual Report under the heading "Overview and Outlook" and for each business segment under the heading "Outlook and priorities" as updated under the heading "Economic, market and regulatory review and outlook" in our Q3 2012 Report to Shareholders. Except as required by law, Royal Bank of Canada assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
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Media Contacts:
Kerry Gaetano,?Head, Corporate Communications, Personal & Commercial Banking and Insurance, kerry.gaetano@rbc.com, 905-816-5583 or 647-281-2931
Matt Gierasimczuk, matthew.gierasimczuk@rbc.com, Senior Communications Manager, 416-974-2124
File photo of chemotherapy drugs. (credit: Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
MOULTRIE, Ga. (CBS Atlanta) ? A man discovers he has cancer after shaving his head in support of his wife who is also battling the disease.
Bud Stringer, 48, from Moultrie, Ga., shaved his head in August while his wife, 47-year-old Dolly Stringer, was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.
After shaving his head, Bud Stringer found what he thought to be a birthmark on his scalp.
?They said, ?Well it looks good, except for that big ugly black spot on your head,? and I just assumed it was a birth mark so I called my mother and she said, ?No, you didn?t have a birth mark.? So we thought maybe it was a mole, a lot of different things, anything but cancer,? he told WCTV.
What the mole turned out to be was melanoma skin cancer.
?You never think it?s going to be you,? he told The Moultrie Observer. ?You think these kinds of things happen to other people. As far as both of us getting it a Las Vegas bookie wouldn?t give you odds on that.?
The Observer reports that Bud Stringer has had surgery to remove the melanoma from his scalp and nearly 30 lymph nodes from his neck. He will begin chemotherapy in a couple of weeks.
Dolly Stringer said it was harder for her to deal with her husband?s diagnosis than her own.
?His diagnosis was much more devastating than mine because it?s easier to go through something yourself as a wife, as a mother and I know how difficult it was and it was going to be for him,? she told WCTV.
A benefit run was held for the Stringers Saturday in an effort to raise money for the family to pay their medical bills.
?In the news we see a lot of the negative side of things,? Bud Stringer told the Observer. ?But people have supported us and it?s amazing how much good there is out there.?
Many men don?t know it, but they can get breast cancer.
The most recent American Cancer Society estimates in U.S. men show nearly 2,200 new cases of invasive breast cancer in men this year. More than 400 men will die from the disease.
Missy Burkett is the breast nurse specialist at the Breast Health Center at Athens Regional Medical Center and said in her career she personally has only worked with one man diagnosed with breast cancer.
?The man had a palpable breast mass, or lump, and went to his doctor, who said he needed a mammogram and an ultrasound,? she said. ?This patient had a biopsy done that came back as cancer, and his initial reaction was surprise; eyes-wide-big surprised. He wasn?t expecting a diagnosis of breast cancer because he thought that just happened to women.?
Once he knew the problem, he went into ?let?s fix it? mode and told the doctors to do what they needed to do to get rid of it, Burkett said.
?He had a great attitude. He didn?t go into shock,? she recalled. ?Some men will go into major shock and will go through the same emotions that women do, but the shock a man would go through is always more severe than a woman?s because women always know there?s the possibility they could get breast cancer.?
The man Burkett worked with did very well in his treatment and currently is living his normal life.
Breast cancer is 100 times less common among men than women.
For men, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is about one in 1,000.
The number of breast cancer cases in men relative to the population has been fairly stable during the last 30 years.
Ashley Woodall, breast health educator at St. Mary?s Health Care System, has helped two male patients diagnosed with breast cancer in her career.
?The male breast cancer patients I have worked with have seemed to have a sense of embarrassment,? she said. ?There also is much disappointment and slight anger.?
To help her patients, Woodall offered as much emotional support as possible and tried not to make them feel different just because they were men.
?I was able to follow them through the whole process from imaging to biopsy, to diagnosis, to surgical referral, to the day of surgery and beyond,? she said. ?I offered them a manual on breast cancer in men, and on the day of surgery, I presented each male patient with a breast cancer bag, which included information, breast cancer magnets, pens, lapel pins, chapstick, a massage and a masculine breast cancer survivor comfort pillow. I called to check on the patients after surgery and gave them my contact information in case they needed any support in the future.?
Men typically discover they have breast cancer after they find a lump or have breast swelling or nipple discharge, nipple inversion, sores on their nipple or the areola (the darker colored ring around the nipple), soreness or enlarged lymph nodes under the arm.
?When men experience any of these (symptoms), it?s important that they go to the doctor right away to have it evaluated, but there are a lot of men that don?t understand that breast cancer can occur in men and will ignore the symptoms,? Burkett said. ?The longer they ignore it, the further the cancer will progress.?
Usually by the time men go to the doctor to have a lump checked, their cancer is at a more advanced stage than would be found in a woman, who are more apt to immediately see a doctor.
?It?s not masculine to have breast cancer, and they feel like it?s not macho to have something going on with their breasts,? Burkett said. ?What they need to realize is that they don?t need to be macho about this. If you have a problem or find something new in your breast, you need to admit it and go see a doctor and have an examination.?
The main difference between breast cancer in men and women is that men usually develop ductal carcinoma, a cancer that forms inside a milk duct.
The cancer treatments for men and women are similar, but when it comes to the surgery, women often have the option of having a lumpectomy.
Doctors typically perform a modified radical mastectomy on a man to remove all of the breast tissue and the nipple, but leave the chest wall muscle.
Woodall and Burkett suggest that men do self breast exams, especially if they have a history of breast cancer in their family.
If the only relatives affected by breast cancer were women, men still need to take the threat of breast cancer seriously.
? Follow faith, health and Blueprint reporter April Burkhart at www.facebook.com/AprilBurkhartABH.
A year and a half ago I wrote a post for Thought Catalog called ?The Importance Of Having A Queer Family? in which I praised the bonds between gay men. I talked about how overjoyed I was to have found such a close-knit group of gay friends after I had moved to New York and why these relationships had been so crucial to sustaining my happiness.
Unfortunately, sometime between then and now, I?ve found myself orphaned and in dire need of a new gay family. Don?t get it twisted, nothing terrible happened. A lot of my gay friends and I just grew apart and became casualties of demanding careers, lifestyle changes, and new relationships. A part of me feels like I may have romanticized these friendships and put them on a pedestal, leading me to wonder, ?Did I ever really have a close group of gay friends or was I just embellishing??
Whatever the case may be, the reality is still the same: my number of gay friends has shrunk considerably and now I am aching for some gay-on-gay platonic friendship. Whenever I see gay men hanging out in packs, I immediately feel jealous and insecure. How did these guys all meet each other? Was there a secret meet and greet in the beginning of the year that I didn?t know about? I feel so inadequate next to them and then I start to think, ?What is it about me that has resulted in my failure of obtaining a decent amount of gay friends? Am I not leading a ?gay enough? life?? The question may seem ridiculous but it does cross my mind. I don?t do a lot of ?gay things? so, of course, my exposure to the scene is limited. But in a way it feels like a catch-22. I don?t feel like I relate and connect to a lot of gay men but, then again, maybe that?s because I don?t spend a lot of time with them. Which came first: the chicken or the gay friend? (Ew, sorry, that sounded like a bad Sex and the City joke.)
I want to feel like I?m a part of the gay community. Even though I love my friendships with heterosexuals, there?s something so important about being able to call a couple of your gay friends up and be like, ?Yo, you wanna go and be gay tonight?? In the past, I?ve had some of my best nights out when I?ve exclusively been with gay guys. We go out to the bars and be gay together and it feels amazing. I realize that I?m being sort of glib and simplistic when I talk about what it feels like to hang out with only gay guys (what does ?going out and being gay together? even mean?) but I don?t really have another way to describe it. It just feels good to be surrounded by other like-minded dudes who are into dudes. It?s like, ?Wow, we get along as people and you also like to suck dick? Score!?
Quite frankly, it?s just hard for me to get along with most gay dudes. Some of them piss me off with their basic bitch mentality or make me feel weird for not hooking up a lot. I often leave the experience feeling very much like ?the other? instead of connected. Granted, this is probably due in large part to my own issues with being gay. I?ve never felt completely accepted by the gay community because I?m not cute enough, and don?t listen to Lady Gaga or go to the gym,?so I stay away from it, out of some misguided defense mechanism. I shut them down before they have a chance to shut me down. You can?t just write people off though. That?s not how you make friends with anyone.
At the end of the day, if I?m really serious about finding more gay friends, I have to stop being such a judgmental diva and put myself out there. Although the thought terrifies me, the prospect of going through my twenties without a giant gay support network scares me more.?
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Who said phones can't deliver console-quality gaming? Asphalt 7: Heat ($4.99 direct, though it's on sale for 99 cents) gives you exactly the kind of arcade racing experience you've been hoping for. It's also the nicest-looking game in the series. Asphalt 7: Heat isn't a simulator, but it's definitely a great buy for old-school Ridge Racer and Outrun fans, or anyone who wants a real arcade-style racing game?without excuses.
Pedal to the Pile Carpeting Asphalt 7: Heat is a 1.37GB download from Google Play, and there's also an iOS version available. I tested Asphalt 7: Heat on a stock, freshly-formatted Samsung Galaxy S III running Android 4.0. There are 60 different cars you can drive on 15 tracks, set in various cities such as London, Paris, and Rio. You start off with a Fiat 500 Abarth. Gradually, you move up the line to a BMW Z4 M Coupe, a Nissan 370Z, and later, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis, unlocking more cars and upgrading them as you go along. The latest update includes the 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo and the refreshed 2013 Hyundai Genesis.
Cars are separated into six different tiers based on their performance characteristics; each event you race in is limited to a single tier. You can also customize the paint, decals, and window tint of each car, as well as upgrade its performance with virtual money you win as you play. But upgrades aren't always worth it; increasing top speed by just 2 km/h cost $18,000, which is ridiculous. Sometimes you get a free car just for one event; I was thrilled to take the wheel of an Audi TT after driving the Fiat, and moving to the second tier starts you off with a fast BMW 1 Series M Coupe.
Knock 'Em Down and Take 'Em Out You steer your car by tilting the handset right or left, and the car accelerates automatically. Tap toward the left side of the screen, and it will light up a brake pedal icon and slow the car. The right side of the screen is the nitro boost area; tap it for a seven-second overboost. Do it with a full boost gauge, and the screen turns blue with neon blue accents, and you hear a prominent whoosh sound as you charge forward. You can also drift by braking and tilting the handset at the same time, which is fun, although it slows you down considerably.
There are 15 leagues and 150 races to complete. You also get a series of goals ahead of each event, such as completing three career events, earning three stars in any one event, and collecting 10 dollar pick-ups. As you complete goals, new ones appear, such as drifting a certain total distance during an event, wrecking less often, or "knocking down" a certain number of opponents by causing them to crash. Meanwhile, power ups are strewn throughout the course. Some of them add to your nitro boost, while others give you prize money. ?Push it too hard?say, crash into an oncoming car head-on, or hit a building?and you'll wreck, although aside from wasting a few seconds, it doesn't have much effect on the game itself.
The computer-controlled AI offers a moderate level of difficulty, and a new multiplayer mode lets you race with up to five friends, either online or locally. Overall, there's a nice sense of accomplishment as you move through the various events. And between the races, time-trials, and position elimination modes, there's enough variety to keep you engaged.
Stellar Visuals?With One Problem Asphalt 7: Heat is one of the most impressive-looking racers I've seen on a phone. The 30-second-ish intros at the beginning of each event deliver a nice feel for the city you're about to race in; you can also abort these sequences and skip right to the countdown. On the road, there's plenty of detail in the dense urban environments, including nicely textured pavement, building structures, and sun glare, and the car models are all easily recognizable.
Draw-in distances are sometimes a little short. But worse is the uneven frame rate, which becomes more common during races with computer-controlled opponents. Usually, the game delivered 30 frames per second and above. But I caught many short periods of less than that, and even split-second hang-ups that were just long enough to be noticeable and irritating. I also saw a few bugs; on one course, some drone cars disappeared as I approached them, although most events worked perfectly.
The soundtrack is somewhat characterless electronic techno, with a steady, pulsing beat and no vocals. It's well-produced, at times sounding Daft Punk-esque. Sound design is pretty thorough as well. Each car has a distinct engine note; the BMW 1 Series M Coupe had a smooth, throaty, high-RPM bark appropriate for a twin-turbo straight six, while the Fiat 500 Abarth belched and rasped at high RPMs, and the Audi TT surged with its quiet, refined turbo four. All the standard skid-out, collision crunches, and power-up sounds are present and accounted for.
55 MPH Is No Fun?Unless You're Still In First Gear There's very little here that's new. But even so, Asphalt 7: Heat delivers plenty of racing excitement. If you can ignore occasional interruptions in the frame rate, the game delivers an awesome sense of speed; it's tough not to feel the adrenaline rush as you play. It feels closer to that of a triple-A console title than it does a throwaway game?and a good one, too. That's an easy marker for an Editors' Choice award if you ask us.
More Mobile Game Reviews: ??? Silversword (for iPad) ??? Comedy Central's Indecision Game (for iPad) ??? Bad Piggies (for Android) ??? Hello Kitty Cafe (for Android) ??? Amazing Alex (for iPhone) ?? more
LINCOLN (CBS13) ? The Highway 65 Bypass opened a couple weeks ago, taking drivers around rather than through downtown Lincoln; and hundreds came out to celebrate as that stretch of road was renamed Saturday.
Those who live in Lincoln know that traffic was a disaster.
?The traffic through here has been just a nightmare,? said Scott Giller of Dillian?s Bar and Grill.
Residents say they hated being stuck in the shuffle.
?This was such a heavy commute route that no one could stop. They had to keep going. You were in a slow line going through town,? said resident Debbie Shoro.
Say goodbye to the traffic of Highway 65 and hello to Lincoln Boulevard.
?It?s fun to go back into town and see the shops,? said Shoro.
But not everyone is so sure it will help businesses.
?I don?t know how good the businesses are going to be, because there?s not too many cars going through,? a resident said.
Ionically, business owners say fewer cars means more business.
?One business owner along the street says In seven years of owning his shop, only five commuters ever came in,? said Shoro.
Giller says it?s been a boost because residents now want to dine downtown.
?It was always such a problem to get through Lincoln from the opposite side of town; and so having the traffic situation ease up has been wonderful for us,? said Giller.
?We will have lots of parking for customers able to walk to stores nearby,? said Crystal Pierson, Fashion Fo Paws owner.
?So many towns die when a bypass goes around them and takes the commuter traffic away, but Lincoln is poised to do just the opposite,? said Shoro.
This 12-mile bypass between the cities of Lincoln and Sheridan is the most expensive construction project in Placer County history.
Developers are embracing Windows 8 as an operating system for the PC. But they are not as excited about Microsoft?s new Windows Phone 8 software because they have already made huge investments in mobile ecosystems that reach hundreds of millions of individuals. They are particularly wary about spreading themselves thin by supporting Microsoft?s new software in addition to Google?s Android and Apple?s iOS. We caught a sampling of reactions to Windows Phone 8, which will be formally unveiled on Monday, from various game-industry executives.
Chris Taylor, a veteran developer at Gas Powered Games, said the new Windows Store for apps could be a game changer if it results in affecting how we purchase apps.
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Public release date: 25-Oct-2012
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